About festival

Riga International Film festival 2ANNAS is an independent film and audio-visual art festival that seeks out and introduces the audience to innovative modes of audio-visual communication from all over the world. The goal of the festival is to popularize European and World cinema among the Latvian audience and explore the evolution and trends of Baltic film art from a global perspective.

2ANNAS celebrated its 21th anniversary in September 2016.

It has become one of the most important Baltic short film festivals over the years, and its scope is ever-growing. We are proud to announce that 1300 films from 70 countries were entered for consideration this year, including the record-breaking 60 Latvian productions.

Riga International Film festival 2ANNAS consists of a competition programme in three categories and special focus programmes.

The international short film competition offers a selection of high-quality short films that have already gained recognition, or are on their way to fame. Short films represent all genres (fiction, animation, documentary, experimental, music video, etc.). Every year 2ANNAS competition programme includes short films that have been nominated or awarded in high-rank film events such as the Cannes film festival, the Berlinale and the Academy Awards.

The Baltic short film competition presents the latest work of Baltic directors which reveals the short film genre in all its diversity from fiction and animation to visual and conceptual experiments. 

For the first time in 2015, 2ANNAS introduces the international medium-length film competition, showcasing medium-length films (30-60 min), which are an unusual sight in international festival programmes since they are neither short, nor feature films.

Over the past three years, 2ANNAS has also provided its audience with special non-competition programmes focusing on a topic that has been chosen as the main theme of the festival. 

2ANNAS is proud of its status as a high quality film explorer. 2ANNAS exists in a world where short films are not only the first step to a feature film, but a deliberate decision that results in a superior piece of art. 

Another 2ANNAS characteristic next to its ground-breaking content is its unique shape: the festival is famous for wild parties in unusual locations, free-spirited atmosphere and creative expressions.